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Case for social justice Jobs for the
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That’s not cricket Men in blue are rich in money only WHILE Abhinav Bindra has electrified the country with his Olympian feat, highly pampered cricket boys seem to be in a withdrawal mode, losing matches tamely. So poor has been their performance in Sri Lanka that disgusted fans have been commenting that the team seems to have forgotten that it is playing a Test match and has gone about the task as if it were a an inter-college event.
Obama’s N-agenda
Mirror, mirror on the carrier...
Life on hold What led Georgia, Russia
to fight Inside Pakistan
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Case for social justice Economists, as a rule, tend to hedge their bets and their prescriptions for economic ills are invariably preceded with “on the one hand” followed by “on the other hand. So much so that one exasperated US president was reported to have asked for a one-handed economist. In a culture where such economists thrive, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen stands out as an openly partisan economist in his concern for the poor and the deprived. He makes no bones about where his head and heart are and was at his impassioned best on the subject in his Hiren Mukherjee Memorial Parliamentary Lecture on “Demands of Social Justice” delivered in the Central Hall of Parliament on Monday. Criticising the “momentous manifestations” of severe injustice in India today, Prof Sen drew attention to the “appalling levels” of child under-nourishment, continuing lack of entitlement to basic medical attention of the poorer sections and the absence of opportunities for basic schooling. He blamed the political class for its quiet acceptance of these long-standing and “consistent” deprivations and wanted a strong effort made to identify the “overwhelming priorities that have to be confronted with urgency”. He observed that the elimination of deprivations affecting the majority is adversely affected by agitations over “new problems” that generate immediate and vocal discontent. Such agitations that do not reflect the survival concerns of the silent but deprived majority imply a refusal to address the demands of justice. In underscoring this colossal failure of our political class, Prof Sen is making out a forceful case for putting economics at the centre of politics; an economics that recognises the deprivation untouched by decades of growth and a politics that is preoccupied with protests on issues of relatively lesser importance. As Prof Sen suggested, the only way out of the deprivation in which millions are trapped is for the political class to address the injustice that is manifest rather than chase grand visions which only take away the focus from immediate issues crying for attention. |
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Jobs for the favourites THE suspension of all the nine members of the Haryana Public Service Commission, including its chairman, M.S. Saini, by Governor A.R. Kidwai, has come after President Pratibha Patil’s clearance. These members, appointed by the then chief minister Om Parkash Chautala, will remain suspended till the completion of the ongoing probe into allegations of widespread corruption and nepotism against them. They have been charged with recruiting favourites of Mr Chautala and his colleagues in the Haryana Civil Service. Consequently, when doubts were raised about the fairness and credibility of the selection process, the Bhupinder Singh government reviewed the appointments and ordered an inquiry by the Vigilance Bureau. The Supreme Court has since directed it to expedite the inquiry and ferret out the truth. In fact, considering the fact that the HPSC members were under cloud, the Hooda government, two days after assuming office in March 2005, had withdrawn the entire work from them. While the action against the HPSC members is in accordance with the law, it is a pity that political interference and favouritism rule the roost in almost every state Public Service Commission. In the process, merit has become the worst casualty. The tales of Ravi Sidhu’s chairmanship of the Punjab PSC in 2002 are fresh in the region’s memory. In the absence of a fair, just and foolproof mechanism for selecting the chairman and members of the state PSC, the chief minister packs the commission with his/her favourites. If civil servants are selected on extraneous considerations and not on merit, imagine its repercussions on the quality of administration and the overall system of governance. It would be eminently sensible if, instead of the state government, the Union Public Service Commission selects the chairman and members of all state PSCs. As they are constitutional bodies, they need to be insulated from political and other extraneous influences so that the chief ministers do not use them as instruments of political patronage or whatever. Though the PSC recruits cannot be equated with IAS officers, they do hold important positions at the cutting edge of administration. Thus, in the interest of good governance, there is a need to impart complete fairness and impartiality to the selection of the PSC members so that they recruit the best available candidates and on merit. |
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That’s not cricket WHILE Abhinav Bindra has electrified the country with his Olympian feat, highly pampered cricket boys seem to be in a withdrawal mode, losing matches tamely. So poor has been their performance in Sri Lanka that disgusted fans have been commenting that the team seems to have forgotten that it is playing a Test match and has gone about the task as if it were a an inter-college event. Many poster boys already appear as suffering from battle fatigue. Whether it is because of the distracting activities like endorsements, or sheer complacency, their abject cave-ins are a matter of national humiliation. Every other game may be suffering from lack of funds but the BCCI is flush with funds. Yet, these astronomical sums have never allowed the game to touch needed heights of excellence. That is a serious matter to ponder over. At one time, hockey was our national game. But it has shrivelled out of shape. Imagine a world beating team not even qualifying for the Beijing Olympics! And yet, the “chalta hai” attitude has become so deeply engrained that there has hardly been a major overhaul in the functioning of the IHF or any other sports body for that matter. There is also hardly any planned effort to promote individual sports like swimming and athletics. In every self-respecting country, sports is a full-time obsession. Here, it is no more than a pastime. There are any number of world class sports persons in our midst, but most of them are frustrated because of monumental apathy. The shocking tales of former national champions having to work as porters or a roadside workers scare away many budding Abhinav Bindras. His family had the means to support and nurture his talent. Can a family with average income even dream of indulging their boy in a similar manner? In fact, it is not their responsibility, but that of the government and the sports federations who do not look for talent — which is available in India requiring help and effort to be groomed. Yet, those in the responsible positions would rather use their influence to accommodate their own favourites through the back door or to wangle as many foreign trips for themselves and acolytes as possible. The sportsman is reduced to a bit of side role. The Olympic spirit that Abhinav Bindra wants to nurture can manifest itself only when sports is managed in a professional manner and with dedication by the sports bosses. |
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Nothing’s beautiful from every point of view. — Horace
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Obama’s N-agenda
Mr Barack Obama’s
reported remark that he was not inclined to seek changes in the Indo-US nuclear deal gave welcome relief to those who were racing against time to operationalise it before the end of the Bush Administration. But the champions of the deal on both sides would rather have it signed and sealed now and not risk a Democratic President applying his non-proliferation yardstick to the deal. A fact-sheet entitled “Obama’s New Plan to Confront 21st Century Threats” released by the Obama campaign reveals that the exception being given to India may not fit in with his overall nuclear agenda. At best, he will treat the Indian case as a temporary exception as his eyes are set on the NPT route to non-proliferation. Heartening enough in itself, Mr Obama has embraced the Nunn-Shultz-Kissinger formula for a world free of nuclear weapons. Eliminating nuclear weapons would be a central element of US policy under his leadership. But that is a distant objective, with little possibility of realisation in his lifetime. Moreover, Mr Obama makes it clear that the US will not disarm unilaterally. He has pledged not to authorise the development of any new nuclear weapons, but he has no intention to scale down the massive destructive capacity that the country has acquired over the years. A robust nuclear arsenal is very much a part of his security strategy. Mr Obama’s priorities on the global scene, which will have a bearing on his cooperation with the rest of the world, including India, are clear enough. Nuclear security that will reduce dangers of nuclear terrorism, prevention of the spread of nuclear weapons capabilities and strengthening of the non-proliferation regime—that is his order of priorities. Security takes precedence over non-proliferation as a consequence of the post- 9/11 American mindset, but the measures Mr Obama has outlined to strengthen the non-proliferation regime reflect the Cold War instincts of the past. Mr Obama will have a hard time explaining the India deal in the context of his new agenda. If he inherits an operationalised deal, he will be able to live with it, but he will not be able to promote it the way Mr Bush has done. One of the proposals in the new plan, for instance, is that highly enriched uranium (HEU) should be phased out of the civil sector. This has to be a long-term phasing out in the case of India. The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which involves interdiction of traffic on the high seas for suspected movement of nuclear materials is a matter on which India has shown little enthusiasm so far. But Mr Obama attaches high priority to the initiative and is likely to mount pressure on India to become involved. The IAEA has received Mr Obama’s special attention, but only in its watch-dog role, not the promotional one. He has gone far beyond the recommendation of a Commission of Eminent Persons, convened by the Director-General, to suggest that the budget of the IAEA should be doubled in four years. The commission had only envisaged an annual increase of about Euros 50 million till the year 2020, leading to a doubling of the budget by that year. He has also placed emphasis on all countries signing the Additional Protocol to the safeguards agreement, which will give the IAEA unconditional access to nuclear facilities. Mr Obama’s proposal is that the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) should not authorise export to the countries which have not signed the Additional Protocol, a new conditionality even for NPT countries. India is committed to signing an Additional Protocol under the 2005 Joint Declaration, but it is not considered necessary before the Congressional vote on the 123 Agreement. Mr Obama also speaks of “going beyond” the Additional Protocol to make the IAEA inspections broader and more stringent. If these proposals are pursued in the IAEA successfully, they will cast a shadow on the India- specific safeguards agreement. India will come under pressure to accept new conditionalities. On the new pillars of the non-proliferation edifice, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT), the Obama proposals must also cause concern to India. As long as the FMCT does not affect the existing stockpiles of fissile materials, India should have no difficulty in agreeing to it, but Mr Obama envisages controls and curtailing of the existing stockpiles in excess of defence needs. He is committed to getting the US to ratify the CTBT and to launch diplomatic efforts to bring others, including India, into it. As President, Mr Barack Obama will undoubtedly be a votary of non-proliferation, but what remains to be seen is the amount of flexibility he will have in dealing with the exceptions granted to India under the nuclear deal. The challenge for both the countries will be to choreograph an India-specific waltz under an Obama
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Mirror, mirror on the carrier...
Thousands of ships of various types enter Indian ports daily. However, an aircraft carrier fascinates the general public most. Recent media reports about thousands of visitors daily visiting decommissioned Indian aircraft carrier Vikrant, now permanently docked on the south Colaba coast, Mumbai, reminded me of the days before India decided to acquire one. During those days when the US 45000-tonne aircraft carrier Bon Homme Richard with a crew of 5000 men visited Mumbai. I had my residential accommodation in the Pali Hill area close to Santa Cruz. The film industry personalities, including top actors and actresses, used to often meet us and show keen interest in visiting naval ships in harbour. So when the news of the impending arrival of US carrier appeared in the media there was a clamour from our cine friends for an opportunity to visit it. They realised that a floating airfield with aircraft being catapulted every two minutes with the aid of massive lifts having a passenger capacity of 400, deck landing mirror, steam catapults, arresting wires, sea rescue helicopters and speed boats leaving ship and shore every 10 minutes in rapid manoeuvres gave them a rare chance to fulfil their life’s dream. The US consulate had arranged about 80 visitors’ passes for the local public to the Western Naval Command in Mumbai. Every visiting group had to be led by a naval host. My share of visitors was 10 in number, including children. The first speed boat was to leave from the Gateway of India at 2 pm and the last at 7. No cameras were allowed. In my group were friends of film actress Suraiya and film star Ashok Kumar. The US aircraft carrier escorted by two destroyers and a submarine reached Mumbai harbour and anchored three nautical miles away from Gateway of India. The visitor boats started plying next day. My group consisted of four ladies besides kids and four males. I was in uniform. We were first escorted into the hangar deck. From hangar deck they were lifted into the flight deck in the massive lift that accommodates 400 persons. As a part of special demonstration on flight deck for curious visitors, pushing of aircraft by steam catapult to gain speed and of arresting wires to hook in speeding aircraft while landing on flight deck thrilled them. Visitors were amazed to realise that the Rs 2-crore mirror on the ship was the costliest on earth. On flight deck the guests were served with soft drinks and snacks through a conveyor belt system which could serve 500 persons in 30 minutes. Every group of visitors was presented with a plastic scale model of the aircraft carrier and toys for kids before
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Life on hold IF you watch television or carefully read newspapers, one thing that comes out loud and clear is that anarchy has been let loose in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. And it is a carefully crafted transcript. An outgoing Governor, Lt Gen S.K.Sinha throws wisdom to the winds by allotting 100 acres of forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board. The Governor is a retired army General with a lot many grievances against the Congress. This was enthusiastically earlier promoted by the then Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and the coalition partner, Peoples Democratic Party. On the face of it, this innocuous decision could be considered a benevolent gesture as this was to facilitate pilgrims to the holy cave of Lord Shiva. The union and state governments spend heavily each year for maintaining and facilitating pilgrimage to Hindu, Muslim and Sikh places of worship. In fact, there are laws governing the management of these shrines and some of these are under the direct control of state governments. Yet the Governor, who had invited BJP leader L.K. Advani to pay obeisance at the shrine, should have known that in a sharply polarised polity, some elements could exploit this allotment of land. Within days, there were demonstrations, bandhs and violence in Kashmir, particularly Srinagar. Extremist Muslim organisations, always in search of volatile emotive issues, lost no time. What we had was another bout of violence. The PDP backtracked as did Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference. Within days, the Congress-led government, now reduced to minority, had to resign. Azad, considered experienced by many leaders in Delhi, could have easily anticipated the reaction from the valley where hard communal elements propagated that this decision was meant to change the very demography of Kashmir valley and settle Hindus over there. They worked on fear and insecurity. Feeling isolated and panicky, the government tried to save the day by making the Amarnath Shrine Board withdraw its demand for the land and thus revoked the order issued earlier. It thought it had solved the problem. New Governor N.N.Vohra was much relieved and felt he could now concentrate on administration and development. What he got in turn was unprecedented violence in the Jammu region. The Hindu right-wing organisations like the Shiv Sena, the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad under the overall umbrella of the BJP unleashed not only a hate campaign that found reverberations in far-off Madhya Pradesh, where two persons died in clashes, but also sharpened divisive communal politics. The reaction in the Jammu region, that has felt ignored for many other reasons, could have been anticipated, even if not up to the present magnitude. For over a month now, there has been a complete bandh in Jammu and many other cities. The daily run of curfew and firing and counter firing has claimed over a dozen innocent lives. Many more have been maimed. Two policemen have been lynched. In the Jammu region even Army conveys have been attacked by an instigated mob. There is no section of society in Jammu that has not suffered due to this strike and the consequent action from the police and the security forces. The situation in Kashmir valley has been no better. Violence has spread even to Poonch, Rajouri, Sambha and many towns. If hospitals are full of the injured and the sick, there are no medicines. Other services have been affected. Schools, colleges and universities are all shut. Life has been put out of gear, literally. The national highways are blocked at several places. The movement of even essential goods - food, gas and petroleum products and life-saving medicines - on the only road link to Kashmir valley from India via Jammu has been effectively blocked. Hundreds of trucks carrying apples from Kashmir valley to Jammu and the rest of India are stranded. Even the Army has not completely succeeded in removing the blockade. One newspaper estimated that during July alone the transport sector suffered losses worth Rs 200 crore. Traders have lost Rs 90 crore. The daily loss to industry is estimated up to Rs 70 crore and the Lakhanpur toll post is losing Rs 4 crore daily. Over 2,000 vehicles carried goods and passengers daily to Jammu the number has come down to 500. The number of pilgrims going to Vaishnodevi has fallen from 20,000 daily to 5,000 and to Amarnath cave, the point of dispute, from 15,000 daily to 400. The Kashmir valley has lost over Rs 300 crore in trade. Another Rs 125 crore is the estimated loss to fruit traders. Tourism has suffered another loss of Rs 200 crore. Hundreds of families have been ruined. Daily wagers have no jobs and no food to eat. They are on doles. Starvation may follow soon. How weak is the modern state is visible even to a casual observer. While Pakistan should be happy as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pointed out to the opposition leaders, there are leaders and parties in India that hope to make a neat political capital out of this sharpened communal divide. Vote-bank politics tell them to sharpen this divide and make it an all-India affair. |
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What led Georgia, Russia to fight The conflict in Georgia is Russia’s largest military engagement outside its borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Here are some of the key issues in the current crisis. Who is fighting whom? On one side is Russian air, naval and ground power. On the other is the military of Georgia, a small, separate country south of Russia on the western shore of the Black Sea. It was part of the Soviet Union but has a history of troubled relations with Moscow. Where
are they fighting? The bulk of the fighting revolves around two pro-Russian enclaves, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The fighting appears to be expanding toward other parts of Georgia. Russia captured a military base in western Georgia on Monday, and there were conflicting reports whether a main road had been cut near the city of Gori. What is the background to the fighting? Moscow has long viewed itself as the protector of the two enclaves, which have been under pressure from the central government in Georgia. In 1990, Georgia voted to abolish the autonomy of South Ossetia and by 1991 the ethnic antagonists were fighting. In 1992, Georgia and Russia signed a peace treaty and Russian troops began patrolling the South Ossetia border. That same year, Abkhazia declared its independence from Georgia and another war was fought, which ended in 1994 with a treaty between Russia and Georgia. Russian troops then began patrolling that enclave too. What touched off the latest fighting? Georgia launched a surprise operation last week to seize control of South Ossetia. An enraged Russia sent its military into the breakaway republics and bombed Georgia proper. Was this confrontation expected? Yes and no. Many western experts have predicted that Russia would stage some sort of military action after Mikheil Saakashvili was elected president of Georgia in 2004. As part of his platform, he said he wanted to reincorporate the enclaves into Georgia. Most experts agreed that Russia would respond with force if that happened. Does the United States have any special interests in the area? Saakashvili is an ally of the United States and sent troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States has strongly backed Georgia’s effort to join NATO. Russia fears that its former Soviet partners and satellites will look to Europe and form a pro-Western ring, curbing Moscow’s arena of diplomatic action. The second concern is energy. Georgia is a major conduit for oil flowing from Russia and Central Asia to the West. What is the U.S. diplomatic position? President Bush said Monday that the United States wants Russia to end its offensive and return to the situation that existed before the fighting began. In a tough statement from the White House after he returned from the Olympics, Bush said: “Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.”
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Inside Pakistan Despite subtle and not-so-subtle advice from various quarters, President Pervez Musharraf is giving no indication of preparing to resign. He has not changed his mind even after most of the National Assembly members of his party, the PML (Q), did not attend the meeting he called on Monday. As the cry for his early exit is getting shriller, all kinds of stories are appearing in the print and electronic media. There are also sympathetic comments. An editorial in Dawn (Aug 12) says, “In case Musharraf goes on trial, the judicial process should not only be transparent, it should be free from any trace of political vendetta. To repeat a cliché — justice should not only be done, it should be seen to be done. Against this principle we see leading PPP and PML-N members making statements that constitute downright propaganda rather than a serious attempt at accountability... “It is ironical that the author of the NRO (National Reconciliation Order) is now being targeted by the beneficiaries of the infamous law. Not only did the NRO enable politicians of all hues to cleanse their often dirty hands within the country, it also facilitated the ‘whitening’ of millions of dollars stashed away in foreign banks.” Daily Times commented, “Discussion is hitting a new low in decency as the coalition government moves towards the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf. People calling in to register their opinion during TV debates are shouting phaansi (hanging) for him while anchors regale the nation with triumphant smiles. This is their way of “persuading” the President to quit. While sane and temperate advice is indeed that of abdication, this sort of vindictive hype may be counter-productive by challenging him to dig in his heels and weather the storm. Is that the right way to go about exercising the constitutional right to impeach the President?” Business Recorder says, “… the game should be played in a civilised manner. What President Musharraf’s opponents are trying at is fully catered for in the Constitution. They have the right to do it. But the Constitution also envisages complete protection to his right to defend himself. Played fairly, with tempers un-frayed, there is no reason why this tug of war should not end peacefully… There is a civilised way out of the present national predicament and nobody should give up on that.”
Daily Times gave an interesting twist to the raging debate on the impeachment of President Musharraf. It editorially highlighted a charge-sheet issued by Al-Qaida. The extremists in Pakistan are among the happiest people today, as they have been baying for his blood ever since he sided with the US in the war against terrorism in the wake of 9/11. The paper said, “An Al-Qaida charge-sheet against President Musharraf has also hit the media market. Second-in-command (of Al-Qaida) Ayman Al-Zawahiri’s audiotape condemns him for ‘the proliferation of narcotics, rising Indian influence in Afghanistan, maltreatment of Dr AQ Khan and the killing of the madarsa seminarians at Lal Masjid’. According to him, all this was done to please the United States. “More significantly, the Al-Qaida tape points to the perils of accepting its simplistic charges as a part of the ‘national drive’ against the President. It accuses him of proposing ‘a solution of disputed Kashmir that was actually aimed at giving up Pakistani claim on the valley’. It accuses him of accepting the Israeli state on Palestinian territory.”
According to The Nation, “While his isolation increases, the number of those who demand his public trial is increasing. On Sunday the Ex-Servicemen Society opposed giving the President a safe way out. PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has also said that instead of giving concessions to the President, the process of accountability has to be taken to its logical conclusion. Unless President Musharraf urgently decides to bow out, he is likely to find himself in a cul-de-sac.” There is no way he can stay put in power. Going by the statements of Army chief Gen Ashfaque Kiyani, he is unlikely to come to the rescue of his former boss. Mr Musharraf also cannot use the constitutional provision to dismiss the government and dissolve the National and Provincial Assemblies because of the prevailing public mood. Reports suggest that people are not prepared to tolerate him in the position he occupies.
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